what's worse than a "nazi tattoo"?

[ProfessorPlum]

letting actual fascists continue to control the Senate when this may be our very last chance to prevent the US from becoming a one party country.

Please support the guy who made a dumb choice once rather than actual fascists.

[EdmondDantes_]

1. He's made a lot of choices that I find troubling

The tattoo, his reddit posts including blaming women for rape, using retarded as a slur during the campaign, his sexting, his treatment of women, associating himself with a guy who thinks Israel killed JFK. That's not one dumb choice years ago. It's a pattern of them. Trying to minimize things to something you can brush aside as long ago doesn't reflect the reality. He's not perfect, nobody is, but be honest that it's more than just the stupid tattoo.

[AloeVera]

3. Now do Susan Collins and her "choices".

Start with her choice to back Kavanaugh (ironically Platner's accuser was involved with crafting Collins' talking points...) which led to the LOSS of choice for women.

[H2O Man]

10. Thank you.

[ColoringFool]

12. Yeah, NS, Sherlock, That A Democrat Is Better Than A Republican. But....

This is the Primary.

[cliffside]

17. The primary is in a few days and this hit piece in the NYT comes out a week before ....

the primaries.

[peggysue2]

34. Suspicious, no?

There are no coincidences in politics.

[AloeVera]

21. Well, My Dear Watson,

Yes it is...It is elementary!

Taking liberties with a famous Sherlock quote:

"When you have eliminated the POSSIBLE, what remains is........ SUSAN COLLINS..."

[EdmondDantes_]

29. I wouldn't vote for Collins because I don't like her policies

So not particularly relevant. Candidates need to earn a vote not think they are entitled to one because someone else might be worse.

And whataboutism is silly. It's especially silly when I was responding to a diminishing the red flags around Platner because people want to believe. For example I believe something radical like women are full equal citizens, how am I going to overlook someone who was abusive towards women and puts blame on them for being raped? I volunteer with Special Olympics, how do I look the athletes I coach and tell them that I value them if I don't call out someone who's still using the word retarded as a slur in 2026? You might be able to set those things aside. I can't and still be the person I try to be.

If I can't defend Platner on his own merits, that's a problem for me.

[AloeVera]

32. Do you like Platner's policies? Would you vote for him if you could and if his Reddit posts, tattoo etc were not known?

To me, that is the crux when I look at criticism of Platner. I suspect those that have jumped on the bandwagon of GQP manufactured Platner shaming-and-blaming never agreed with his actual policies in the first place.

And if you do not agree with his policies and worldview, you are more likely to fall for the GQP dirty tricks so evident here. You are also more likely to fall for - or even eagerly embrace - the false framing and narratives so readily laid out for you. Especially as they have been SPECIFICALLY created to appeal to Democratic voters and their values.

It really is discouraging to watch it all play out - just as planned by the rat******* in the GQP.

Also, it's simplistic to view the comparison to Collins as "whataboutism". The comparison is meant to reel people back to reality, what is to be lost if the narrative doesn't change. It may be too late already and I'd hate to think people would want that as it surely means the loss of regaining the Senate, among other bad - very bad - things.

Here's the final, important thing. If I thought Platner was all those things you accuse him of being - in this and other threads - I would not be a supporter. But I DO NOT. I look at the weight of the evidence, the sourcing, the calculated false framing, the omissions and selective emphasis, the motives and agenda, and I come up with - they've got nothing!

I commend you for your Special Olympics work. It's a wonderful organization.

[oldmanlynn]

33. It will be hard to argue with the purist

They would let fascism royal the country rather than vote for somebody who farted

[AloeVera]

35. Not convinced it's all purity for purity's sake. Some no doubt genuine, some a cynical exploitation of that propensity.

Hard to tell now, due to GQPs rat*******.

See post #32.

But your description of the genuine article is hilarious...

[ProfessorPlum]

5. Compared to the demons in human skin who are currently

destroying everything in this country, the guy is a fucking angel. Get real.

[stopdiggin]

9. are we now saying that Susan Collins - and every other person with an R behind their name

are quote: "demons in human skin" ?

See - this is where we get just a little sideways and off track.

By these lights we should really being welcoming back Anthony Weiner, Eric Swalwell - Menendez - McCormick - and on ?
In fact - given the 'parameters' set - is there really any line can't be crossed? Anything goes?

I don't really require an answer. "We're fighting demons" kinda' says it all.

[ProfessorPlum]

14. fetch the smelling salts

and the clutching pearls

[questionseverything]

41. They are happily starving children, seniors and poor people in general, literally starving them,

So yes they are demons and monsters

[tishaLA]

7. Yeah, all that is far worse than voting to approve Kavanaugh's nomination

when he assured her Roe was safe. And speaking of Kavanaugh and the "Kavanaugh stops," in which he argued that it's perfectly fine to stop and detain people based on their perceived ethnicity, she also voted in favor of the funding that allowed the federal government to set up gulags, many of them "private prisons over which we have almost no oversight. All that's much worse than sexting, I guess.

Oh, and "associating himself with a guy? is pretty weak sauce. It's like the bullshit repubs used on Pres. Obama with Rev Wright.

[fujiyamasan]

18. Don't care

Susan Collins needs to be out of a job.

That’s what matters here.

[Irish_Dem]

19. Thank you for this comment.

100% accurate.

An interesting choice for high office isn't it?

[Walleye]

2. I agree, we need to keep our eyes on the prize

[usonian]

4. See my comments.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=21288443

The swastika (a Sanskrit word) is a Buddhist religious symbol that was expropriated, desecrated and reversed (literally and figuratively)

Look in the mirror. It reverses.

This doesn't.

[Boo1]

6. False dichotomy

There are options in this race right now that aren't Susan Collins and also never had nazi tattoos.

The primary hasn't happened yet.

[canetoad]

8. Well said

I'm a student of WW2. I know the history and uses of the swastika. I know the symbol of the Death's Head battalions. Not many folk of my age are interested enough to learn this aspect of history. Much younger people - many are entirely ignorant of the symbology and the iconography. Some become aware when it's pointed out to them.

To insist that a man born in 1984 - almost 40 years after the end of conflict should be intimately conversant with the symbology of the era is unreasonable. He is 30 years younger than I am. My early life was very much lived in the shadow of WW2, yet I doubt if many of my contemporaries could accurately identify a Totenkop as opposed to any other skull and crossbones type symbol.

His explanation and that of his cohorts is believable.

[ColoringFool]

13. Believable to you. It bears qualification. I also know a lot about....

WW II. And I am not naive.

[canetoad]

15. Can you articulate

Exactly why you don't accept Platner's explanation?

[QueerDuck]

20. Speaking for myself... I can explain why.

For some reason, I've always had a hard time trusting anyone who claims to "not know" what a Totenkopf is.

I find it improbable that in the eighteen years he had a tattoo of a Nazi symbol, he never figured it out. This goes well beyond simply being a drunken choice of "cool skull and crossbones dude" tattoo and "I'll take THAT one!" Instead, it's a specific historical emblem worn by concentration camp guards.

In fairness... and this is FULL EXTENT of the lenience I'm willing to extend to Platner... perhaps in a drunken moment he looked around the walls of the tattoo shop or flipped through three-ring binder of designs displayed plastic page protectors... and chose that particular one from "skull and crossbones" collection for not particular reason... it just caught it eye.

Perhaps he really didn't know its meaning at the time. But in the subsequent eighteen years (EIGHTEEN YEARS!) that passed before he FINALLY had it covered (and then, only when it was politically expedient) it seems unlikely that he had "no idea" what it meant.

For Pete's sake... he was a political activist and organizer during some of those years, so, the argument that a politically active person wouldn't have encountered the meaning of a Totenkopf in nearly two decades is statistically very thin. It's hard for me to accept that he had "no idea" what it meant and that nobody ever bothered to question him or tell him.

Even though Platner maintained he didn't know the symbol's meaning, contradictory reports from CNN surfaced which alleged past Reddit comments (now deleted) and witness claims suggesting he was aware of the Totenkopf connection years earlier. --- Also, his former political director and some past acquaintances have claimed he "knows damn well" what the symbol meant years ago, contradicting his claim of ignorance.

Personally, I find it difficult to completely trust his judgement. I subscribe to the philosophy of Maya Angelou who gives the advice that "when people show you who they are, believe them." His insults and other "jokes" about: women, sexual assault victims, LGBTQ, LEO's, rural-Americans being dumb, the "cheap" tipping habits of AA's, and using the R-word as recently as last month cannot be ignored. I know that we're all just human and imperfect, but these things indicate a pattern of poor judgement and lack of impulse control ... and that bothers me.

If he ends up being our nominee, I'll hope and pray that he wins... as I've said in the past: the "worst Democrat" is always preferable to any Republican. But, honestly, I'm just tired of being disappointed. I'm afraid that the road ahead will be filled with heartbreak and regret.

[ColoringFool]

11. I Hope You Live In Maine! 😉

[cliffside]

16. Pictures of him with his shirt off at his brother's wedding, his sister-in-law is Jewish and posted the photo of him ...

ten years later on her anniversary.

So I'm wondering what his Jewish in-laws said to him all throughout those years? Nothing? Did not know/recognize the tattoo. If they were not offended why are so many concerned now, makes one wonder. This was known back in late 2025, and there is an interview published in Vanity Fair. This is now coming out again with the new NYT piece a week before the primaries.

Not a resident and cannot vote there, but I do know war changes one for a lifetime, I saw it with my father.

Thanks for posting.


https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/graham-platner-nazi-tattoo-interview

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/us/politics/platner-maine-senate-girlfriends-relationships.html?unlocked_article_code=1.n1A.ihr-.D3UnwWlXaTaL&smid=url-share

[JCMach1]

22. A toxic human being is way worse than a toxic tattoo

[MineralMan]

23. It may be too late to recover.

The disrupters waited and waited, and then launched their disruption so close to the primary date that only their voices will be heard.

I'm seeing this toxic crap on all the news networks now, the weekend before the primary election.

The disrupters have the timing down pat.

Damn them!

[AloeVera]

24. Yes. In hindsight, it was naive to hope Platner wouldn't be taken down.

He is too much of a threat to various established narratives, ideologies and projects.

But you know what? Wouldn't it be a glorious victory if he still somehow managed to prevail with the good people of Maine seeing through it all?

[MineralMan]

26. Well, it was always going to be a close race.

Collins has plenty of supporters in Maine. She keeps winning, despite being one of the least likable Senator ever.

There was a chance. Now, I'm afraid it is going. All of the weekend news programs are all over Platner. It's the story of the week, it seems. the disrupters are very good at what they do, and we just eat it up, even here on DU.

I am beyond disappointed.

[AloeVera]

30. Oh well. At least we learned about the Totenkopf.

/S

[MineralMan]

40. Good point.

I wonder if some 20 year old Marine knew what it was? Doubtful.

[questionseverything]

39. What I am hearing is he has volunteers on the ground working

He maybe able to pull out the primary but

If he does, AIPAC and the repubs have 100s of millions to throw against him


We ain’t seen nothing yet

[harumph]

25. I agree. It's purposeful ratfucking.

It's made me take note of certain posters even here - because who would want to give the republicans any edge in this race? I get the concern about Platner - because you know...Fetterman, but anyone flirting with sinking one of our best chances at taking the senate is not on my team and does not share my priorities which are simply, getting this fucking boot off my neck. To some extent I think some of the concern is genuine but terribly naive and terrible strategically.

[Easterncedar]

27. Exactly.

The media has been saturated with this story. I don't want to date the guy, but he is articulate and his political positions are solid. Collins needs to go. The Supreme Court is at stake.

[lapucelle]

28. There are three Democratic candidates on the ME ballot.

Voters should rank their choices based on both who will be best positioned to flip the seat in November and on who will be least likely to be a drag on all the other Democrats running for senate in November.

[niyad]

31. Once again, this is not solely about his nazi tattoo, but about ALL

the troubling things in his bio, including his comments about women, which many, including the media, seem perfectly willing to ignore. Very disheartening, to say the least.

[QueerDuck]

36. Disheartening, indeed. I see a lot of heartbreak and disappointment ahead.

Yes... I agree. Why is it being ignored? Good question. Why are the thin and implausible denials being so eagerly accepted and not questioned or examined? I fear that he has this things sewn up but there are other Democrats on the primary ballot, so as unlikely as it may be, things could still change.

And it's not only the insults and other "jokes" about: women and sexual assault victims... also ignored are comments about LGBTQ, LEO's, rural-Americans being dumb, the "cheap" tipping habits of AA's, and using the R-word as recently as last month cannot be ignored.

As I've acknowledged before, I know that we're all just human and imperfect, but these things indicate a pattern of poor judgement and lack of impulse control that bother me.

I've frequently said in the past: the "worst Democrat" is always preferable to any Republican. But, honestly, I'm just tired of being disappointed. I'm afraid that the road ahead will be filled with regret. (Fingers crossed that it isn't, though.)

[csusan]

37. My feelings if it matters since I'm a woman

I'm 73. I remember being single and getting birth control for the first time. My friends and I sat around discussing excuses we could give a doctor regarding why we needed it. How sad is that. I remember when women couldn't have credit cards. How sad is that. I remember when a married woman couldn't be raped by her husband-her body became his when they married. How sad is that.
I have read what platnar said about women. I didn't like it and felt it was insensitive and lacked an understanding of how women feel. I also feel that women do sometimes put themselves in dangerous situations. No woman is ever asking to get assaulted but unfortunately if we want to increase the odds in our favor we do need to be careful how much drink, who we go home with, how often we go out alone and where we go alone. I know women jog on their own. It should be safe but it isn't. I read of a woman who went home with two men to do more drugs. She called a friend just in case but ended up dead anyway. I read that and thought "what the hell were you thinking." Sometimes women do put themselves in bad situations. How sad is that. We have to be more careful and NO we shouldn't have to but sadly it's up to us to protect ourselves. There of course are times that we have no control with what happens. To make women total victims who could have done nothing to change an outcome takes our power away.
I'm not condoning what platnar said. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't live in Maine so it's not my place to say anything more than how maine votes will impact me and all women. I think Platnar has the best chance of winning and beating Collins. I have not seen the nazi symbol and have no idea what it looks like. My father was in WWW II. He came home with tattoos. He said he and his buddies got drunk and got the tattoos. They just picked ones they thought looked cool and that they could show girls/women when they got home. I'm not convinced Platnar knew what it was. If he did seems to me he would have had the sense to remove it before running for office. kinda of a dead give away if you really are a nazi.
I think some at DU pick a position and absolutely will not consider or rethink. The more people try to discuss with them the more entrenched they become. They will not budge. Their whole goal is to argue and win not discuss.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

38. I would like to see a Democrat defeat Collins but I do not believe that Platner is the right person

I am Jewish. My law firm has sponsored events as our local Holocaust Museum. Both at the Museum and on the internet, I have seen pictures of this same tattoo. This tattoo really pesters me. Platner's several different explanations for this tattoo have not changed my opinion. As a Jew, I have issues with this tattoo.

I have seen a ton of oppo on Platner already. Platner was not able to re-enlist in the Marines due to this tattoo. https://democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=21287909 I also read the NYT article referenced about this tattoo. Here is a gift link to the NYT article https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/us/politics/platner-maine-senate-girlfriends-relationships.html?unlocked_article_code=1.nlA.Bsm5.vZGAKLQzqR0k&smid=nytcore-android-share
The facts discussed in that article about the tattoo are also disturbing and are consistent with other stories like Platner's former campaign staff. See https://www.democraticunderground.com/100220739179 and
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=20741637

All of this oppo has come out before Platner is the nominee. Based on the other oppo that I have seen on the internet, I strongly believe that Collins and the GOP have a ton more oppo that I think will be effective in re-electing Colins. I want to see Collins defeated but I do not believe that Platner is the person to beat Collins. You can ignore the oppo research, but that research will be used in the general election. As much as I dislike Collins, I believe that Collins will beat Platner in the general election.

I personally would support either Governor Mills or the other Democrat running. Governor Mills and the other democrat are both on the ballot and I hope that one of these other candidates end up being the nominee. Time will tell

[obamanut2012]

42. It isn't a "Nazi tattoo"

It's a Nazi tattoo.

[W_HAMILTON]

43. A primary is being held and it is not between someone who made a dumb choice vs fascists.

It is, in my opinion, between someone that made MANY dumb choices vs better Democratic alternatives.